BG's Comeback Bid Falls Just Short, 71-67

Saturday, January 29

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

9-8,4-4MAC

Toledo

15-4,9-1MAC

Toledo

Bowling Green

Amy Velasco had a career-high 21 points in her first-ever 'Battle of I-75'

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

January 29, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-UT Stats Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

Velasco goes for 21 in her first 'Battle of I-75'

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team fell behind early, but battled nearly all the way back before falling by a 71-67 final to the University of Toledo on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 29). The Mid-American matchup was held at the Stroh Center.

BG trailed, 16-3, midway through the first quarter, and the Rockets still led by nine points with 1:21 remaining, but the Falcons got back within four points before succumbing.

For the Falcons (9-8, 4-4 MAC), freshman Amy Velasco led all scorers with a career-high 21 points, including 16 in the second half. Senior Kadie Hempfling had 13 points and seven rebounds, and freshman Jocelyn Tate scored 10 points and had a team-leading nine rebounds.

Sophia Wiard had 20 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the Rockets (15-4, 9-1 MAC), while Quinesha Lockett had 13 and Jessica Cook and Sammi Mikonowicz 10 apiece. Cook had a double-double with 13 rebounds.

BGSU shot 38.3 percent from the field on the afternoon, and the Falcons struggled from three-point range, going just 3-for-19 from the arc. The Rockets shot 43.3% from the floor and went 7-of-24 from long distance.

Saturday was Alumnae Day for the Falcons, with over 40 members of the women's basketball program in attendance for the game.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Freshman Amy Velasco had a game- and career-high total of 21 points on Saturday. She had 16 of those 21 points in the second half.
• Velasco has hit double figures in scoring nine times this season, including in each of the last eight home games. She is averaging 15.2 points per game in home contests.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"The environment was great today. It was all things fun about being a student-athlete and getting to play college basketball."

"The first half was the difference in the game. We didn't have a very good start. We fought and clawed our way back, and gave ourselves some chances near the end, but it was a little too little, too late. Toledo has a very good team, but our first half has to be better."

FIRST QUARTER
• The Rockets scored the game's first six points, and after Kadie Hempfling countered with a three-point play to cut the BGSU deficit in half, the visitors went on another run. A Sophia Wiard three-pointer began a 10-0 Toledo run, with Jayda Jansen's triple giving the Rockets a 16-3 lead.
• The Falcons answered with Jocelyn Tate's driving banker and a turnaround jumper by Hempfling, and over the last two-plus minutes, Elissa Brett and Hempfling converted layups as well. Then, Sophie Dziekan took a pass from Nyla Hampton and hit a nifty buzzer-beating banker, cutting the UT lead to 21-13 after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• The visitors got a three-pointer to begin the second quarter, but the Falcons slowly chipped away at the 11-point deficit. Hempfling hit a layup, and Amy Velasco answered a Hannah Noveroske hoop with a pullup jumper, before Hempfling stole the ball and fired a long pass ahead to Hampton for a layup.
• Moments later, two Hempfling free throws cut the UT lead to seven, and Velasco found Morgan Sharps, who pulled up for a long three-pointer from the right wing, whittling the margin to six.
• But, UT scored the game's next four points, and after Tate scored in the paint, a Khera Goss corner three gave the Rockets an 11-point lead, at 37-26. The visitors got two more triples, from Wiard and Soleil Barnes, to go ahead by as many as 14 points, before Velasco hit a layup in the final seconds of the half. UT took a 43-31 lead into the locker room.

THIRD QUARTER
• The Rocket advantage reached 14 points on two occasions early in the third quarter, before Velasco hit driving layups on back-to-back possessions to make it a 47-37 game.
• But, every time the Falcons scored, UT seemed to have a response at the other end. Sammi Mikonowicz hit a trey for a 13-point lead, and after Zoe Miller's and-one layup, Wiard converted a three-point play of her own to give UT a 55-42 lead.
• Miller scored the final two buckets of the quarter, the beneficiary of a bounce pass from Hampton and a jump pass across the paint by Kenzie Lewis. BG was within nine points after 30 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Jessica Cook scored UT's first six points of the quarter, with BG able to counter with only a Velasco triple in that time. Two free throws from Velasco, however, cut the Rockets' lead to 61-51 with three minutes gone in the period.
• Toledo scored the next four points before Velasco hit a three-point try from the top of the arc. Tate converted a pair of layups, making it a seven-point game – 65-58 – with exactly three minutes to go.
• Then, Hempfling rebounded a UT miss and went coast to coast, drawing a foul and hitting both subsequent shots to cut the Falcons' deficit to five.
• But, after the Falcon defense nearly came up with a steal twice on the next possession, Wiard hit a pull-up jumper as the shot-clock horn sounded, giving the Rockets a 67-60 lead with 1:46 remaining. After a BG miss, two Lockett free throws made it a nine-point game at the 1:21 mark.
• Velasco hit a layup, and after Goss missed a shot, Tate got a layup to go with 36 seconds left, cutting the UT advantage to 69-64.
• Wiard split a pair of free throws, but BGSU missed a three-point try on the next possession, and Lockett split a pair of charity tosses.
• Kenzie Lewis made a free throw with eight seconds left, and after a late UT turnover, Velasco was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with just 1.6 seconds to go, making it a four-point game. The Rockets threw the ball out of bouncs on the ensuing inbounds pass, but a last-second effort from three-point range was off the mark for the Falcons.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Velasco had 16 of her game- and career-high 21 points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter alone.
• One game after reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career, Kadie Hempfling had 13 points and seven rebounds vs. the Rockets. Hempfling, who also had a game-high total of three steals, was recognized just prior to the game for reaching the 1,000-point career milestone.
• BGSU's three freshmen combined for 40 points in the first 'Battle of I-75' of their respective careers. In addition to the 21 points by Velasco, BGSU got 10 from Tate and nine from Miller. Tate just missed a double-double with a team-leading nine rebounds.
• The Falcons shot 81.8% from the free-throw line, going 18-of-22.

Gallery: (1-29-2022) W.Basketball v Toledo - Jan. 29 2022

Gallery: (1-29-2022) W.Basketball v Toledo - Jan. 29 2022-2

UP NEXT
• The Falcons begin the month of February with a pair of road games, taking on Northern Illinois (Wed., Feb. 2) and Ball State (Sat., Feb. 5).
• BGSU's next home game is set for Feb. 9, when the Falcons meet NIU for the second time in as many Wednesdays. Then, the Brown and Orange will venture to the Glass City for a rematch with the Rockets three days later.
• Log on to BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2021-22 Falcons.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on...
• Facebook | @BGWBB
• Twitter | @BGAthletics and @BGSUwbb
• Instagram | @bgsuwbasketball
• Snapchat | BGSU Falcons